Purdue University Provost Tim Sands talks in his campus office about his remaining days at the university and his move in June to be president of Virginia Tech.

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Purdue University Provost Tim Sands' career trajectory will take a familiar turn in June, as he makes a transition common in the higher education sector.

When Sands leaves the chief academic officer position in West Lafayette to become president of Virginia Tech, another public land-grant university in Blacksburg, Va., he'll be joining a third of the nation's university presidents, who became higher education CEOs after serving in the provost role.

Sands will become the third Purdue provost in a row to become president or chancellor of a higher education institution and the fourth ...